Chapter 24
TWENTY-FOUR
Lissia
Marchello ended the call and hurried up to the bedroom without even looking at me. Ouch.
Whatever news he had just received shook him to his core. The quiet emptiness that surrounded me left me unsettled and certain of one thing—there would be no peace.
Our fathers made sure of that before Marchello and I ever spoke a word to one another. Marchello tried to warn me that we were doomed from the start, but I was too stubborn to see it. If I couldn’t accept our fate then, there wasn’t a chance in hell I would believe it now.
We belonged together. I would fight for us every day.
Judging from Marchello’s expression when he ended the call, he didn’t need me, so I waited a bit before going to find him. By the time I got to the bedroom, he was out of the shower and getting dressed. A black suit, black dress shirt, and a black tie.
A hitman special. Who is his target?
He swiped his gun from the dresser, secured it in the holster in the back of his pants, and glanced at me before putting on his shoes.
“Is it bad?” I asked.
Of course it was bad. Why else would he be leaving in the middle of the night?
He placed his foot on the bench by the window and tied his shoe. Choosing not to answer me, he did the same to his other shoe.
“Is it dangerous?”
“Not for me.” He slipped on his silver watch, checked the time, then stepped toward me. He kissed my cheek. “Don’t wait up. It’s going to be a long night.”
“Where are you going?” I followed him into the hallway. “Is Milo going with you?”
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be home when I can.”
“I do worry about you.”
“I’ll leave the credit card,” he said. “You and Ricardo can go to breakfast and go shopping. Dom will take you wherever you want, but do what he tells you to.”
“I want to go with you.” I hurried after him, but when he approached the main staircase, he turned and held up his hand.
My heart sank.
“You can’t come with me,” he said. “There’s no place for you in my business.”
“My place is with you.” I ran my hand through my hair. “Don’t you know that?”
“I need you to trust me.” He reached for me. “I can’t do my job if I’m worried about you.”
He called me his family earlier. He bared his soul to me and told me he couldn’t live without me.
“I trust you.” I smiled because I didn’t want him to get distracted thinking I was going to do something stupid. “Do what you have to do.”
“I will.” He tugged me to his solid chest and encased me in his muscular arms, surrounding me in his warmth and security. “I’ll take care of everything. All you have to do is be here when I get back. Can you do that?”
He tilted my chin and gazed at me.
“I can.” My bottom lip trembled at the severity in his eyes. “Just make sure you come home.”
“Now that I have you, getting home is my priority.” He pressed his lips to mine, holding still for a moment before gently kissing me. “I love you.”
“You better.” I smirked. “Because it’s going to be an expensive shopping trip.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything else.” He darted down the steps, glancing over his shoulder and winking at me before disappearing from my sight. The image of his flirty smile imprinted in my mind.
“I love you,” I whispered.
I strolled down the hall, taking my time to go back to the bedroom. There wasn’t much of a rush now that Marchello was gone. I didn’t want to sleep—I wasn’t sure I even could.
Glancing around the room, I was reminded of the rousing round of sex we had shared an hour ago.
Why were we so explosive? Could we really expect to survive in such a hostile environment? If the war between our families wasn’t enough, there was the dynamic between us.
Two turbulent souls moving toward each other and neither one knowing when to retreat. Could you spell disaster?
Picking up the pillows from the floor, I fluffed them before placing them on the bed. I crawled under the comforter and cuddled into Marchello’s side of the bed, wishing he was here with me.
I gazed at the skylight, admiring the glow of the moon, but it wasn’t enough to lull me to sleep. Tossing. Turning. Kicking off the covers. Putting the covers back on. With each tick of the clock, the more restless I became.
My father’s offer to reveal what he knew eventually crept into my head. What if I could get him to tell me without him expecting me to leave Marchello?
Stop it! My father’s endgame was to get me home.
Trust Marchello. Trust Marchello . I wriggled one leg out of the covers. I was hot under the comforter and cold when I was out of it.
A brighter illumination slowly replaced the moonlight. The sun?
I checked my phone. It was almost seven. How had I managed to lie here all night and never close my eyes? I had too much on my mind.
There were no texts from Marchello. Should I text him? Would that distract him from whatever he was doing? Hurting? Killing?
Maybe this was the life that destroyed my mother—made her hard, cold, and despise my father. But Marchello wasn’t my father, and I wasn’t my mother. What I had with Marchello was different. We wouldn’t destroy one another like my parents had done to each other. Would we?
What am I doing? I sat up and glanced around the empty room. Marchello and I could get through this. We loved one another. That would be enough.
Right. Even I wasn’t naive enough to believe that. The only way we were going to survive was if something drastic happened.
A quick vibration drew my attention to the nightstand. What the hell?
I sat up and glanced at Marchello’s side of the bed, spotting the burner phone that he rarely let out of his sight. I rolled over and reached for it.
Should I? Marchello said to stay out of his business.
The phone buzzed again. What if it was important?
Do I listen to him? Of course not.
“Hello,” I answered.
There was no response.
“Are you looking for Marchello?” I asked.
“Who is this?” The voice was irritated and abrupt. The odds of this being Nico were very high, but I didn’t want to assume.
“Why don’t you tell me who you are first, then I’ll answer all your questions.” I swallowed hard. “Within reason.”
“I don’t take orders from you,” he said. “But I’m curious.”
“About what?”
“Is this the woman who has totally blown Marchello’s life apart? The one who is responsible for causing him to make one bad decision after another?”
I bit my bottom lip, taking a little pride in the caller’s perception of me.
“The one and only.” I swung my legs over the bed and gazed out at the city skyline. “But I wouldn’t say all of Marchello’s decisions have been bad since hooking up with me.”
“You’re not standing where I am.”
“Is this Daddy Accetti?”
“Where is my son?” he asked.
“He had to leave in a rush.” I slipped out of bed and stretched my back. My sluggish body suffered the consequences of not sleeping all night. Or maybe it was the rough sex Marchello and I had before he hustled out of here.
“He left the phone with you?”
“Not on purpose.” I yawned. “I told you he was in a hurry.”
“And you thought it was a good idea to answer it?”
“I thought it was important, and I was right,” I said.
“Interesting.”
“You are important, are you not?”
“Extremely, but apparently not important enough for my son to remember to take with him the only means of communication we have to one another.”
“Don’t be so hard on him.” I strolled over to the walk-in closet and peered inside. “He’s dealing with a lot.”
“He might be dealing with a lot less if you weren’t distracting him.”
“Hmm…” I ran my fingers through the dresses Marchello bought me when we first arrived at the safe house. “I think he’d have less problems if you came home, don’t you?”
“We would all have less problems if I came home.”
“Can’t you make that happen?” I tugged the forest green dress with the high slit from the closet. “Doesn’t the cartel know you’re more useful to them in New York than you are wherever it is you are?”
“Wow,” he said with a laugh. “Maybe you should be negotiating for me, Ms. Gallanti.”
I’d rather be an Accetti.
“How does your father feel about you sleeping with my son?” he asked.
“Given the current climate of our families, how do you think he feels?” I got down on the floor to look for the brown boots that would pair so well with the green dress. “I’m trying to find a solution.”
“You’re trying to find a solution?”
“Am I supposed to sit around and do nothing?”
Yes, that’s exactly what you promised Marchello you would do.
“Hasn’t Marchello warned you that there is no resolution?”
“I don’t believe that.” I opened the box with the boots, breathing in the fresh new scent of the imported leather. “There has to be a solution for all of us. What if my father could…”
Marchello told me to drop this.
“What is it you think your father can do, mafia princess?” Nico’s smooth voice dripped with sarcasm and was laced with the same smugness I’d grown to love from Marchello.
“What if the families joined forces? Used both of their resources to figure out how to get you home?” Didn’t that make sense?
“Then I would be indebted to the man who tried to murder both of my sons, and that isn’t a position I would ever want to find myself in.”
Okay, that made a little more sense.
“That’s a fair point, but your odds are looking pretty slim.” I leaned against the wall and pulled my knees into my chest. “Mine aren’t looking that great either.”
“Your father can’t help me, and if he says he can, he’s lying to get you to come home.”
How did he know that?
I didn’t want to believe that because I wanted more than anything to reunite Marchello with Nico. Running this business was putting too much stress on Marchello. He needed his father’s guidance.
“Your father is predictable, which is why he doesn’t have the power I have. So, if my son hasn’t already told you, don’t do him any favors.”
“Marchello needs you,” I said. “There’s too much going on. He carries it all on his shoulders.”
“When I left him, we weren’t at war.”
“You blame me for that.”
“No, it’s not your fault, but the situation has become dire. My son has developed feelings for you.”
“I certainly hope so.”
“These feelings are clouding his judgment.”
“That’s why you need to come home and do what he can’t. You’re not done teaching him.” I rested my head against the wall. “He needs you.”
“Marchello is smart and calculated, and with Milo’s help, they will figure this out.” He cleared his throat. “You have to stay out of his way and let him do his job. I will get myself home without your father’s help.”
“Do you think my father was lying to me when he said he has information that will help you?”
“Even if he has information, I wouldn’t trust it.” He paused for a moment. “Gian came after my family. I realize you want to believe he will help you, but that help will cause you a great deal of suffering.”
“He might back off if I can get him to see how much Marchello means to me. I know there is bad blood between our families, but I’m his daughter. I’ll make him understand that helping you and letting me be with Marchello will go a long way in restoring our relationship.”
“He ordered a hit and shot you in the process.” He sighed. “Before that, he tried to force you to marry an arms dealer. I’m not certain that deal is off the table. Your father has big plans for my territory. As long as I’m out of the country and my sons are no longer in the picture, he believes he can succeed.”
“He won’t go after Marchello again. I’ll make sure of that.”
“No!” He raised his voice, and if he were standing in front of me, I would have cowered. “Do not use yourself as bait. Don’t do anything that will jeopardize Marchello’s life. Do you understand?”
“You’re as arrogant as your son.”
“Where do you think he got it from?”
“He misses you.”
“I miss him.” His voice softened. “I may not be in New York, but I can assure you, I’m doing everything to protect what’s mine, including you.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means you have to trust me and let this all play out.”
“I’m not good at waiting, and I don’t like to listen,” I said.
“Then you’re probably not going to like it when I come home.”
“Why not?” Why did I ask? I didn’t want to hear his answer.
“Because, little mafia princess, I don’t have a soft spot for you like my son does. I will do what he can’t.”
“What’s that?”
“I will get you in line.”
We’ll see about that.
“I need to go,” he said. “Be careful who you trust. It’s a harsh world out there.”
“Nico.” I got up from the floor. “The only reason you don’t have a soft spot for me is because we haven’t officially met.”
His low laugh captivated me almost as much as his Italian accent.
“Take care of my son. I’m trusting you with that task. Don’t fail me.”
He ended the call before I could say anything else. He left me intrigued, but he had also given me a new perspective on what I had to do. That man needed to come home soon. I looked forward to the challenge.
Taking the dress from the closet, I carefully draped it on the bed. I gazed into the mirror, taking in the fierceness in my eyes.
Mafia princess? Hmm… I like that title. But Mafia queen sounded better.
It was time to embrace where I came from and show the men in my life exactly what I was made of. I only hoped I could handle the consequences.